Page 4 - Demo

JOSEPH KNIBB – THE OXFORD YEARS. 1663-1670
Joseph’s brilliant horological accomplishments in London are well documented, but little is known about his early formative years in Oxford. His move there in about 1663 was well-calculated; Royalist Oxford was in the throes of recovery from years of puritanical Cromwellian rule and the restoration of King Charles II in 1660 ensured that Oxford was flourishing once again.
Oxford was England’s city of learning and science and therefore the perfect place for the young and talented Joseph Knibb to establish himself. Second only to London it would have been an exciting and ‘happening’ city, full of renewed hope, burgeoning businesses, scientific innovation and new Royal patronage. At this time Sir Christopher Wren, co-founder of the Royal Society and architect of the Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford and St. Paul’s Cathedral, was resident in Oxford as Savillian Professor of Astronomy from 1661 to 1669. Did the young Joseph meet with the great man himself? Almost certainly, Oxford was then but a town by today’s standards and for two such brilliant scientific minds to have missed one another would have been highly unlikely.
Joseph spent approximately seven years in Oxford from 1663 to 1670; his first few years would have been spent establishing his workshop, presumably on a very tight budget and dividing his time between the bench and building up a clientele. If these pressures weren’t enough Joseph faced opposition from Oxford’s Freemen Smiths and Watchmakers who formally objected to his presence in Oxford. So initially Joseph settled in St. Clement’s just outside the City limits. In 1665 the Great Plague engulfed London and the King moved to Oxford for a few months, further enhancing Oxford’s position as England’s second most important city. By 1666 Joseph managed to move to within the city limits as a subtenant to a university house in Holywell Street. Joseph seems to have acquired ‘protection’ from the University who were outside the Guilds’ jurisdiction and were therefore allowed to employ whichever tradesmen they wanted within the City limits. There is proof of this an entry (below) in the Oxford Matriculations Register for 24th August 1667 which reads:
Translated as: Joseph Knibb age 27 son of Thomas Knibb of Claydon in the parish of Cropredy, Oxfordshire, Gardener Trinity College.
4